OPEN ACCESS ATLAS OF OTOLARYNGOLOGY, HEAD &

NECK OPERATIVE SURGERY

BUCCAL FAT PAD FLAP Johan Fagan

The buccal fat pad flap is an axial flap and

may be used to fill small-to-medium sized
soft tissue and bony defects in the palate,
superior and inferior alveoli and buccal
mucosa. It is often encountered as it bulges
into the surgical field during surgery in the
pterygomandibular region.

Relevant Anatomy

Buccal fat pad

The buccal fat pad (Figure 1) is an

encapsulated, mass of specialized fatty
tissue, the volume of which varies
Figure 2: MRI (axial view) illustrating the
throughout life. It is distinct from
anatomical relationship of the buccal fat
subcutaneous fat (Figure 2). It fills the
pad to masseter and buccinator muscles
deep tissue spaces and acts as gliding pads
when masticatory and mimetic muscles
The buccal fat pad has a body and four
contract, and cushions important structures
processes. The body is located behind the
from forces generated by muscle
zygomatic arch. The body is divided into 3
contraction.
lobes – anterior, intermediate and
posterior, in accordance with the structure
of the lobar envelopes, the ligaments and
the feeding vessels. The anterior lobe is
Temporalis located below the zygoma, and extends to
Buccal fat pad
the front of the buccinator, maxilla and the
deep space of the quadrate muscle of the
Masseter
upper lip and zygomaticus major muscle.
Buccinator
The canine muscle originates from the
Parotid duct infraorbital foramen and passes through
Masseter the medial part of the anterior lobe. The
parotid duct passes through the posterior
Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buccal_fat_pad
part, and the anterior facial vein passes
Figure 1: Buccal fat pad through the anteroinferior margin. The
anterior lobe also envelopes the infra-
The parotid duct passes along the lateral orbital vessels and nerve, and together
surface or penetrates the body of the fat enters the infra-orbital canal. The branches
pad before traversing the buccinator of the facial nerve lie on the outer surface
muscle and entering the oral cavity (Figure of its capsule. The intermediate lobe is
1). It is attached by six ligaments to the situated in and around the posterior lobe,
maxilla, posterior zygoma, inner and outer lateral maxilla and anterior lobe. It is a
rims of the infraorbital fissure, temporalis membrane-like structure with thin fatty
tendon, and buccinator membrane. tissue in adults, but is a prominent mass in
children. The posterior lobe is situated in
the masticatory and neighbouring spaces. It
extends up to the inferior orbital fissure
and surrounds the temporalis muscle, and
extends down to the superior rim of the
mandibular body, and back to the anterior
rim of the temporalis tendon and ramus. In
doing so it forms the buccal, pterygo-
palatine and temporal processes.
Four processes (buccal, pterygoid, super-
ficial and deep temporal) extend from the
body into surrounding spaces such as the
pterygomandibular and infratemporal fos-
sae.
Blood supply
The buccal fat pad flap is an axial flap. The
facial, transverse facial and internal
maxillary arteries and their anastomosing
branches enter the fat to form a sub-
capsular vascular plexus (Figures 3, 4).
Figure 3: Blood supply to buccal fat pad
Figure 4: Note the clearly visible vascular
supply to the flap
Indications
 Reconstruction of small to medium
(<5cm) congenital or acquired soft
tissue and bony defects in the oral cavi-
ty. This includes oronasal and oroan-
tral communications following dental
extraction; surgical defects following
tumour excision, excision of leukopla-
kia and submucous fibrosis; and prima-
ry and secondary palatal clefts (Figure
5)
Figure 5: The buccal fat pad can be
rotated to cover a variety of defects
 Coverage of exposed maxillary and
mandibular bone or bone grafts and
bone flaps
 Alternative or backup for failed buccal
advancement flaps, palatal rotation and
transposition flaps, tongue and naso-
labial flaps, and radial free forearm
flaps.
2
Surgical Steps

 Surgery may be done under local or

general anaesthesia
 Three approaches (Figure 6)
o Incise buccal mucosal membrane
1cm below the opening of parotid
duct (Matarasso’s method)
o Incise behind the opening of parotid
duct (Stuzin’s method)
o Incise superior gingivobuccal sul-
cus Figure 7: Careful delivery of fat pad after
incising the capsule

 Position the buccal fat pad flap in

defect and secure it with absorbable
sutures (Figures 8, 9)
 Cover the flap with mucosa if feasible
(Figure 9)

Figure 6: Position of fat pad relative to

parotid duct

 Cut through the buccinator muscle with Figure 8: Flap placed over an oronasal
diathermy and dissect bluntly until the defect
buccal fat pad is found
 Incise the thin capsule of the buccal fat
pad
 Gently deliver the required volume of
buccal fat tissue into oral cavity by
gentle to-and-fro traction on the buccal
fat, so as not to disrupt the blood
supply and hence devascularise the flap
(Figure 7)
 Take care not to injure the inferior
buccinator branches of facial artery so
as to avoid causing a haematoma Figure 9: Flap sutured to defect, and
 Freshen the edges of the recipient site pedicle covered with mucosa

3
 Await epithelialisation of the flap
which usually occurs within 1 month
(Figure 10)
Figure 10: Mucosalised flap approximate-
ly a month postoperatively
Complications
Complications rarely occur and may
include partial necrosis and excessive
scarring. With large flaps used for buccal
defects there is a risk of fibrosis and
trismus.
Clinical example
Figure 10: Buccal fat pad adjacent to
interalveolar defect
Figure 11: Defect filled with buccal fad
pad
Summary
The buccal fat pad is a simple, reliable flap
for repair of small-to-medium sized oral
defects. It has an excellent blood supply
and causes minimal donor site morbidity.
Author & Editor
Johan Fagan MBChB, FCORL, MMed
Professor and Chairman
Division of Otolaryngology
University of Cape Town
Cape Town
South Africa
johannes.fagan@uct.ac.za
THE OPEN ACCESS ATLAS OF
OTOLARYNGOLOGY, HEAD &
NECK OPERATIVE SURGERY
www.entdev.uct.ac.za
The Open Access Atlas of Otolaryngology, Head &
Neck Operative Surgery by Johan Fagan (Editor)
johannes.fagan@uct.ac.za is licensed under a Creative
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